tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:26:23 +0000Steaming up hillStevie Hastonhttp://steviehaston.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)Blogger442125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-3800864220211882754Mon, 02 Mar 2015 17:33:00 +00002015-03-02T10:26:23.302-08:00Gozo, Gonso, God damn, by Stevie Haston. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PJrtffQCx7g/VPSaqRmZ7eI/AAAAAAAAFvU/RiIRCHpzojM/s1600/P1050536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PJrtffQCx7g/VPSaqRmZ7eI/AAAAAAAAFvU/RiIRCHpzojM/s1600/P1050536.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Climbing on Gozo is a bit weird sometimes. These Lads are playing at the bottom of one of the cliffs, they are not training to be part of ISIS, it's bang, bang, ratta, tat tat on auto. They aren't that bad, just noisy. There will be a referendum on hunting soon, and both party leaders have said beforehand they will be voting for the hunting. These supposed leaders of our morality and&nbsp;polite politics don't hunt themselves, but just want the hunters vote! Anyway the motive is Green, the spring is very green, there's been lots of rain, the green of eco parties does not exist, it's all a sham, here as else where.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TZrF7eoG4Ok/VPSapBQfW2I/AAAAAAAAFvI/znOLdODDauE/s1600/P1050539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TZrF7eoG4Ok/VPSapBQfW2I/AAAAAAAAFvI/znOLdODDauE/s1600/P1050539.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;The motive is green in the Trench new sector, this route a 30 meter 5+ is crazy free, and you end up standing on a horizontal giant fig tree, thus the name Gormengast, it's a great route despite it's weirdly glad in green look. The Trench has many 30 meter pitches, 5+ to 8a, it's not in the guide.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Qz8PPDkMfo/VPSaomLmesI/AAAAAAAAFvA/KB36XT0fx38/s1600/P1050542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Qz8PPDkMfo/VPSaomLmesI/AAAAAAAAFvA/KB36XT0fx38/s1600/P1050542.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-large;">This photo shows one of the myriad mythical Cart Tracks of the island, no one knows who made these tracks, and no one knows when they where made.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gBk5DYNfujY/VPSapxrfk3I/AAAAAAAAFvQ/Z8eAVehqluI/s1600/P1050543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gBk5DYNfujY/VPSapxrfk3I/AAAAAAAAFvQ/Z8eAVehqluI/s1600/P1050543.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Two moths not Myths, they are stuck together, it's spring I guess. Lots of flowers and good temperatures for climbing.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/03/gozo-gonso-god-damn-by-stevie-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-6657572159878749924Thu, 26 Feb 2015 07:22:00 +00002015-02-26T01:48:52.521-08:00Podcast fun talking to Chris Kalous <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Here's a little (well long really) Podcast with Chris Kalous, done in the States.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://enormocast.com/episode-75-stevie-haston-rad-reputation/">http://enormocast.com/episode-75-stevie-haston-rad-reputation/</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-64BK549H4dA/TwBPm-LHaNI/AAAAAAAAAbU/o0JOoS9ltuI/s1600/48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-64BK549H4dA/TwBPm-LHaNI/AAAAAAAAAbU/o0JOoS9ltuI/s1600/48.jpg" height="640" width="416" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">It was a lot of fun, talking to a guy who goes climbing, knows what he's talking about for the most part, and is now in Sirunana, hopefully enjoying himself.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gXEDffLq9Ew/TvQ9rqJ1tZI/AAAAAAAAAak/QT6XtM3Z4yA/s1600/brodway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gXEDffLq9Ew/TvQ9rqJ1tZI/AAAAAAAAAak/QT6XtM3Z4yA/s1600/brodway.jpg" height="640" width="418" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Anyway Chris has got a whole load of good interviews on his site, they are more in depth than you normally get in the mags and less narrow in content. So check his stuff out.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The weather were I am is horrible, it's blowing hard and raining a bit, but in truth it's not the living end, and that interview made me realise I am a bit soft compared with what I was. Having just been sick, and had a throat /chest infection on top of a squashed Patella, I am now gagging to go climbing, so all you people who owe me money, givus &nbsp;spondooly nowous.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/httpenormocastcomepisode-75-stevie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-587616081666537970Tue, 24 Feb 2015 10:08:00 +00002015-02-24T03:55:23.490-08:00Hans Rudel, Killer par excellence /climber, by Stevie the wimp Haston. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-large;">Hans Ulrich Rudel was the most highly decorated fighter in the German forces during the second World War. He was the only s</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">ervice man to be awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, with Golden Oak leaves, Swords and Diamonds. If you want to read about him you can in the two books below. He also wrote a book about climbing high volcanoes in the Andes. He is perhaps the most heroic, or certainly one of the most&nbsp;successful&nbsp;predators of many a war, depends on how you look at him.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ntnl2NttxG4/VOxFQXOuSPI/AAAAAAAAFuU/syGIQ-NRpdw/s1600/P1050534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ntnl2NttxG4/VOxFQXOuSPI/AAAAAAAAFuU/syGIQ-NRpdw/s1600/P1050534.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jZwvrmTT2ug/VOxFTKlhzyI/AAAAAAAAFus/ZAbt_3mI2iY/s1600/P1050531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jZwvrmTT2ug/VOxFTKlhzyI/AAAAAAAAFus/ZAbt_3mI2iY/s1600/P1050531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jZwvrmTT2ug/VOxFTKlhzyI/AAAAAAAAFus/ZAbt_3mI2iY/s1600/P1050531.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I'am not an advocate of war or killing,</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;but I am&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">great admirer of courage and skill, and luck. Hans Rudel must have had&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">oodles of luck and&nbsp;exactly how did they get his balls into a Stuka dive bomber is a question I keep asking my self. There's a bit somewhere in one of the books where Mr Rudel waxes lyrical about flying blindly, but in formation through fog, wing tips six inches apart, it's scary. &nbsp;</span><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-large;"> Hans was a teetotal &nbsp;athlete who was careful about what he ate, he loved walking,&nbsp;swimming, diving, and the mountains, he was also a confirmed Nazi from what I have read. I found these books very interesting. The foreword to Stuka pilot was written by Group Captain Douglas Bader DSO., DFC. a hero/ killer from the other side during the great conflict of tribes, economics, politics and unreason.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eZJYyVa8rxU/VOxFQrsed1I/AAAAAAAAFuY/e7efPbU_fao/s1600/P1050532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eZJYyVa8rxU/VOxFQrsed1I/AAAAAAAAFuY/e7efPbU_fao/s1600/P1050532.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is the battle ship the Marat which Mr Rudel sunk. Hans was credited with destroying 500 tanks, 2,000 ground targets, two cruisers. He was shot down 24 times and lost a leg. There is much to write about him, his complete cavalier attitude toward death and destruction leaves me aghast. &nbsp;If you are reading this please understand I am not a Nazi, I find this mans bravery in a class of its own and only wish to offer this story as an interesting counterpoint to American Sniper. The fact that Hans loved the mountains and sliding through the snow at Barriloche might have made him easy to talk to I always thought, the fact that he had a signed photo from Hermann Buhl on his wall would perhaps have greatly endeared him to me. There is no Hollywood film about him by Clint Eastwood, and it's a very good job that Hitler didn't have a few other lads as capable as Hans Rudel, a man who only drank fizzy water.</span><br />&nbsp;&nbsp; http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/rudel-killer-par-excellanceclimber-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-4468801198157476897Fri, 20 Feb 2015 09:40:00 +00002015-02-20T01:50:10.039-08:00Gozo weird Wied Mielah, by Stevie ordinary Haston.<span style="font-size: x-large;">You must check this link out, I mean it! In Wied Mielah I'ave seen a parrot and a dolphin, naked mermaids and other things. Its one of the great little spots of Gozo and it used to be a sewage out pipe, pumping raw sewage and toilet paper, into the Med. Happily today theres just a few plastic bottles from the tourists.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Here the unforgettable link to possibly the biggest Mola Mola fish ever seen!</span><br /><br /><a class="_553k" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohI_eAFTYjw" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohI_eAFTYjw</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Wied Mielah is a strange beautiful place. It's very old and has a feel to it, Salt has been gathered here from way before the Romans did it as a mini industry. Some of the climbs are really great, they can be easy, but oh so pretty. Recently I ave been giving away posters of myself doing one of the routes there, which has reminded me how beautiful the place really is. Last year when this film was taken I swam around here a lot doing a few little free dives and exploring some very big caves, it was very magical. There are a few bollards carved into the rock in a few places, evidence that there were bad weather mooring here in ancient times. All these routes both above water and below are fun to explore, be my guest.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-klqZEoioycg/VOb-4Dye-RI/AAAAAAAAFt8/85Pw1nyYd0A/s1600/P1050209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-klqZEoioycg/VOb-4Dye-RI/AAAAAAAAFt8/85Pw1nyYd0A/s1600/P1050209.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Spunky Arete 5+, or 6+ depending on who you talk to is a great route, on a big sea day climbers have been known to get a shocking enema which they never forget.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mk7Bxd54CBs/VOb-39UnPgI/AAAAAAAAFt4/cuNLi9EjXKA/s1600/P1050224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mk7Bxd54CBs/VOb-39UnPgI/AAAAAAAAFt4/cuNLi9EjXKA/s1600/P1050224.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Possible scene of new adventure.</span></div>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/gozo-weird-wied-mielah-by-stevie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-8713956228069897053Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:53:00 +00002015-02-18T01:52:24.567-08:00Piolet Tech Machine de Grivel by Stevie Haston.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_X6ZHPqfKh4" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />Heres a little vid from Desnivel Mag Spain, thanks to &nbsp;Dario the editor. Funny how I still get on with some editors after all these years. This is a short vid, more tech info on the Tech Machine is around, but I'll say this- the Tech Machine is the easiest to use production axe Iave ever used, bar none!http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/piolet-tech-machine-de-grivel.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-7283300251503915552Tue, 17 Feb 2015 09:19:00 +00002015-02-17T02:10:41.180-08:00Mellieha Cave by Stevie caveman Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XuuY2ilwvYE/VOMChc3Ob8I/AAAAAAAAFtc/fVyNCpNB7cA/s1600/P1050527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XuuY2ilwvYE/VOMChc3Ob8I/AAAAAAAAFtc/fVyNCpNB7cA/s1600/P1050527.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">This photo gives probably the best impression of one of Malta's top cliffs, Mellieha Cave. I guess you could call it steep. &nbsp;It's on the big island Malta, not on my island Gozo, but I go over by boat to hang out (or upside-down) with mates. My fellow guidebook writer Jeff found this cliff, though obviously it was around a bit longer than that, like a millennium, or several. Anyway it's an old cave, or sink hole, where some, or all of the roof fell in. It's hard to spot even from 50 feet or so away!&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-INOutSI7wgM/VOMCjOmCJiI/AAAAAAAAFto/JvScCdGROOc/s1600/P1050528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-INOutSI7wgM/VOMCjOmCJiI/AAAAAAAAFto/JvScCdGROOc/s1600/P1050528.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">this is Down in a hole 8a, nasty powerful morpho crux, it is stopping me and a couple of others from adding this scalp to the mantlepiece. A real Rael Classic!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Jeff and a talented visiting spanish climber Rael, put up some hard routes here, with back breaking cleaning and bolting, a big thank you is owed to these &nbsp;two great climbers Jeff and Rael. There is one project that is probably 8c to me, and a visiting climber might find the 8a's fairly hard with out the weird beta that is some times required to do the upside down knee barring and other shenanigans. Routes range from 6b+ through to 8c and they all seem tough to me, classic thuggery can be found on Crazy Monkey a 7a forearm fest, Cave Man 7c, and the startlingly beautiful Black Magic woman, a route I bolted.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-odcwS_INIqA/VOMChI9BdII/AAAAAAAAFtY/1th53otOcHc/s1600/P1050529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-odcwS_INIqA/VOMChI9BdII/AAAAAAAAFtY/1th53otOcHc/s1600/P1050529.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>&nbsp;A fairly naughty bolt, 1 year old. Don't worry this one is getting zapped! Please donate to our bolt fund.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">I,ll be doing a bit of writing about bolts soon, so those with an interest, or information, feel free to contact me, the more info I get the better and more informative I can be. And remember folks if you see a dodgy bolt on Malta or Gozo please inform me or anybody in the Malta Climbing Association.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/mellieha-cave-by-stevie-caveman-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-8191456512228591392Sun, 15 Feb 2015 08:41:00 +00002015-02-15T00:49:25.758-08:00Grivel 2015 Clepsydra Twingate by Stevie Haston.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vrt2lTWU8_0" width="480"></iframe>n<br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Heres a cute carabiner from Grivel, it's intended primarily as a belaying biner, it's over strong, it has the Grivel twin gate system, a captured lower gate so orientation is always correct, and it's design makes cross loading a thing of the past.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Belaying with an auto blocking device is really great as this biner keeps the device in the sweet spot, it all makes for really great belaying, at the climbing wall or cliff.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">You can use this inner for other purposes but this is my choice for belaying. There you go, its cute, more fun and success.</span><br /><br />http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/grivel-2015-clepsydra-twingate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-964005416156145813Sat, 14 Feb 2015 08:14:00 +00002015-02-14T00:42:04.653-08:00Sniper versus Selma, by Stevie Haston.<span style="font-size: x-large;">What is written becomes history, what becomes popular film can get written in the psyche of a nation. It has been said or researched-after all I wouldn't just wanna believe it-that when people watch TV series and film they leave some of their cryptical apparatus in their plug socket. Advertisers know this and often introduce some odd nonsense narrative for you to follow.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Climbing is increasingly going mainstream and we are force fed weird, and for me, impossible to believe narratives, my favourite at the Ispo show was that of the dirt bag climber, or should I say immaculately clad, multi coloured rainbow, eco warrior, complete with smiling wife and dog, lactose intolerant, bouldering alpinist. &nbsp;I almost pissed myself going past a certain stand from California only to actually piss myself when I noticed a German brand usurping this advertising myth in the booth two stands down, complete with surfboard, clue here there aint much surfing in Germany, or tolerance for dirt bags.</span><br /><br /><br /><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r57lq7X7XIA/VN8E4zWCo6I/AAAAAAAAFss/B5r3by3Esfw/s1600/P1050092.JPG" height="480" width="640" /><br /><span style="color: black; font-size: x-large;">One Mule for Sister Eastwood.</span><br /><span style="color: black; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-size: x-large;">So, Clint Eastwood has produced and directed some ok films, but the film Sniper is certainly not one of them. His portrayal of a country that seems precambrian and barbaric is far from the truth. The only bit that seems true is the hunter worship that is prevalent in America, my own country Malta, and indeed Italy where I worked. I have friends in all these countries who hunt and share this atavistic predator instinct for &nbsp;tracking, pursuing, and killing, they are my friends and will stay my friends. Hunting is more than popular, it is very big business, it is bigger than dirt bag false climbing, it's huge. So was Sniper just an American advertising film for outdoor sport, or was it an advert for plain killing? Or did the USA army, airforce, and ancillary business interests, just need a GPS to find the country, the wrong country incidentally &nbsp;responsible for 9.11. There wasn't much mention of Mr Sniper searching out the mysterious weapons of mass distraction either.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The film Selma is about the walk made by brave people without guns, and not hiding behind camouflaged nets which gave voting freedom to black people. These events forced President Johnson to enact certain legislation that made it possible for black people to vote in 1965, thats right 1965! President Johnson is portrayed in a sympathetic way which is way to kind, but he ultimately comes good. Perhaps this film could have mentioned that by 1968 America was embroiled in a war that no one wanted except business men- Vietnam and the killing of Brown people.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Pope has publicly said that we are in the middle of World War III, and it's a wonder that we aren't all in our bunkers hiding from the falling bombs, but guess what, contrary to what you might be hearing, the bombs aint falling on America, or the British, or the French, no we are the people who sell bombs, and we are very good at it. And Hollywood &nbsp;is Hollywood. &nbsp;Clint Eastwood was by all accounts a good bloke according to the climbing dirtbags who helped him create the illusion that he could climb, but he has clearly lost the plot, or is &nbsp;now working for the American Riffle Association.</span><br /><br /><br />http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/sniper-versus-selma-by-stevie-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-6899050069983460312Thu, 12 Feb 2015 09:05:00 +00002015-02-12T01:42:23.700-08:00Training regime, by Stevie Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X-MTtmBXDt4/VNxbmAvpXJI/AAAAAAAAFsI/_dY8rvzb9qQ/s1600/P1050400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X-MTtmBXDt4/VNxbmAvpXJI/AAAAAAAAFsI/_dY8rvzb9qQ/s1600/P1050400.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>Crusher Matrix board, a very good wooden finger board.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Training is just a protocol for getting better, you stress the body parts you need and they get stronger. Training is not a Fru Fru Nouvel Cuisine thing that looks great and doesn't feed your belly. &nbsp;I just watched loads of nutty vids, but my favourite is of a 9b climber being put through some useless excersies with a Thereaband that looks like a weak bit of panty elastic. Climbing does involve lots of complex movements and skill but the real important muscles are the ones that control the fingers- if you can't hang on you can't use skill! The fingers need care, and prolonged work, they are as much soft connecting tissue as muscle, be careful, and stick to a finger board plan.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Eiv70k7aN4/VNxbmP7k-sI/AAAAAAAAFsE/pzYLXJhfXB4/s1600/P1050406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Eiv70k7aN4/VNxbmP7k-sI/AAAAAAAAFsE/pzYLXJhfXB4/s1600/P1050406.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The seven days that changed France for ever, well not really! Paris was exactly the same when I went thru the other day, they were eating cheese and being extremely French. Politics, Training, Mind control, it seems they are all the same. Just stick to basic common sense, get strong slowly, don't listen to the hype and the exaggeration.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f2ebNKu99IU/VNxbl3e_ltI/AAAAAAAAFsA/_-PS_VQs2Sg/s1600/P1050413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f2ebNKu99IU/VNxbl3e_ltI/AAAAAAAAFsA/_-PS_VQs2Sg/s1600/P1050413.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A funny winter of discontent, not a great deal of ice, not a great deal of snow. This photo was heading south to climb ice, but really I wished to go further south, some friends were in Indian Creek crack climbing the same day.</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tnhYpT8c_gw/VNxbmm7T5BI/AAAAAAAAFsM/mBy_9RGdqPI/s1600/P1050508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tnhYpT8c_gw/VNxbmm7T5BI/AAAAAAAAFsM/mBy_9RGdqPI/s1600/P1050508.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Carnival time again, 30,000 visitors in a &nbsp;my tiny village, wow, that sure makes the limestone cliffs look like paradise. After a month away working and no real time or opportunity to train I tested my fingers and they seem very good, no real loss in strength. So what did I do, well it boiled down to about four sessions of pull ups on door edges or a board, pretty basic, eh? The skill part will be very rusty of course, and I'll have to do some rehab for my knee. So the re- hab for the knee will be done with a bit of slack knicker elastic, yea of course it won't.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/training-regime-by-stevie-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-8723863437586490236Tue, 10 Feb 2015 18:53:00 +00002015-02-11T02:09:26.863-08:00Traveling man Ispo/Gozo by Stevie Haston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-weo1Ti4bXEQ/VNpPWWQFtNI/AAAAAAAAFrQ/4WC7R3RTZv0/s1600/P1050492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-weo1Ti4bXEQ/VNpPWWQFtNI/AAAAAAAAFrQ/4WC7R3RTZv0/s1600/P1050492.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;This poster will clearly not do as well as the next one! Here we have a very able athlete winning a major comp and the climbing world doesn't care. Maxim Thomilov is a great strong motivated guy and so are his mates who he competes with, there was a lot of forearm meat on display when I met the team in Aosta Italy the other day. Why no one cares about this comp is some kind of blight on climbing magazines and their inability to do the most basic reporting or understand comps-unless of course there are scantily clad girls &nbsp;parading around and offering american sound bites.&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XuUWGdcO_Jw/VNpPWY7FWtI/AAAAAAAAFrY/NEUK4wDmLrA/s1600/P1050495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XuUWGdcO_Jw/VNpPWY7FWtI/AAAAAAAAFrY/NEUK4wDmLrA/s1600/P1050495.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;These dear lovelies are snowboards, believe it or not. I wouldn't personally want to scratch them, although I might want to ride them into destruction. There you go, sex sells. This is in answer to the editor of Planet Mountain Web site.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o__2ymsIL08/VNpPWtTpxCI/AAAAAAAAFrU/hpTGue8l0NY/s1600/P1050500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o__2ymsIL08/VNpPWtTpxCI/AAAAAAAAFrU/hpTGue8l0NY/s1600/P1050500.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Taken from the car, this is typical Tyrol, going from Germany back into sunny Italy. The Ispo show was great, lots of good gear every where, and by lots of folks too. 15 deaths on the snow due to a very unstable layer and possibly a lot of stupidity also, gear doesn't save your life as much as common sense! Be warned it's still dangerous.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VjcMxkpad_Y/VNpPYH6xt2I/AAAAAAAAFro/W-N7Zx4gke0/s1600/P1050503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VjcMxkpad_Y/VNpPYH6xt2I/AAAAAAAAFro/W-N7Zx4gke0/s1600/P1050503.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Back at the factory in Italy. Buy these, keep me in a job.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r29tmXvXz4U/VNpPYCznApI/AAAAAAAAFrs/kIJmuAe4d7w/s1600/P1050507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r29tmXvXz4U/VNpPYCznApI/AAAAAAAAFrs/kIJmuAe4d7w/s1600/P1050507.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">So back in my island in the sun, Gozo welcomed me with open arms. My leg is a bit better and my projects are waiting patiently to kick my ass, gonna train away all those Weiss beers. Hope your not in the frost, cos I aint.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/traveling-man-ispogozo-by-stevie-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-1919946383508229969Sun, 01 Feb 2015 16:22:00 +00002015-02-01T08:46:55.195-08:00Gear Safety, Climber Safety, by Stevie Safe Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-evkIwroam40/VM5Lz2QPzeI/AAAAAAAAFqs/e4e3PRwuAN4/s1600/P1050459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-evkIwroam40/VM5Lz2QPzeI/AAAAAAAAFqs/e4e3PRwuAN4/s1600/P1050459.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Using &nbsp;thin ropes is a bit of a skill and safety issue, most reviews of them tell you they are light and don't wear well, which of course is true. &nbsp;What you fundamentally must understand is that they need a certain level of skill to use them safely. There are two issues, first is that you can ruin one of these extra thin ropes in an instant with a bad rub point, a notched caribiner, or just treating this thin rope like it was a much more robust rope. The second issue is you really have to think about the belay device you use! These thin, skinny, slick, great ropes don't work very well with nearly all of the normal belay devices! Am I therefore saying they are not safe, no I am not, but you must take real care to be safe, so take care, and be safe. Edelweiss and a few other rope manufactures make some very good skinny ropes, there advantages are clear low weight, low friction and more red point success.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRn7xm7Su8A/VM5LyR6Jl8I/AAAAAAAAFqk/kLTxmA4RMvo/s1600/P1050470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRn7xm7Su8A/VM5LyR6Jl8I/AAAAAAAAFqk/kLTxmA4RMvo/s1600/P1050470.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-large;">I love this door nob, I use it to crack walnuts! Theres no warning on it, no instruction pamphlet its just a door knocker, use it to knock, don't use it to some how mash your fingers. &nbsp;Climbing is full of little dangers and some big ones too, so be careful. I am very careful and still have accidents, I work in the climbing gear manufacturing business and realise more than most &nbsp;that its easy to use gear wrongly or just have an accident.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zuf0LFut8eE/VM5L0MtvfrI/AAAAAAAAFqw/zUxcOKJRz9M/s1600/P1050473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zuf0LFut8eE/VM5L0MtvfrI/AAAAAAAAFqw/zUxcOKJRz9M/s1600/P1050473.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-large;">Be safe, play the devils advocate if you want, but try and understand some of the avoidable stuff. Like &nbsp;rope stretch sometimes means you will hit the ground if the ground is within reach!</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g6Yvs70yrEQ/VM5L1W0C7FI/AAAAAAAAFq8/1A_YdllK1LI/s1600/P1050480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g6Yvs70yrEQ/VM5L1W0C7FI/AAAAAAAAFq8/1A_YdllK1LI/s1600/P1050480.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Slight Prang today, smashed Patella, got a few days to think about this while working at ISPO trade show, come and offer your condolences, or have a laugh at my expense.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/02/gear-safety-climber-safety-by-stevie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-7637525665666725926Thu, 29 Jan 2015 22:57:00 +00002015-01-29T23:50:44.907-08:00Post Script fron USA, by Stevie PS Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">The States was good, or should I just say the outdoor show, as I only went climbing twice, and only close a few hours outta town. I returned to Europe which had duller skies and missed the states straight away, ah! Anyway in Italy now, which aint bad, it's got coffee for a kick off, and off to Germany in a couple of days where of course they got beer, Utah take note, 2.5 and 3 percent is yellow water!&nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N6dF8HI6rsg/VMq01gGcrAI/AAAAAAAAFp8/4MC41jwcjIQ/s1600/P1050421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N6dF8HI6rsg/VMq01gGcrAI/AAAAAAAAFp8/4MC41jwcjIQ/s1600/P1050421.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Obvious this is the new guide book to ice and mixed in Utah, it's by two really great guys Nathan Smith and Andrew Burr. Buy it, 20 odd bucks for great photos and info. I very much like my photo got Nathan looking like a saint!</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REBhhZ8oJ78/VMq1RDouZ3I/AAAAAAAAFqM/60I6dncaxLE/s1600/P1050422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REBhhZ8oJ78/VMq1RDouZ3I/AAAAAAAAFqM/60I6dncaxLE/s1600/P1050422.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;This is my bessy buddy garage in Salt Lake, 'alright Steve, we got a meter of fresh coming in tomorrow, your in the wrong place buddy'. This is my kinda garage, a very common sight in Utah, two different sorts of board, finger boards and sliding boards, oh yes!</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_fyU4yuB0FY/VMq0zidvToI/AAAAAAAAFp0/VhicGp9sa1A/s1600/P1050427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_fyU4yuB0FY/VMq0zidvToI/AAAAAAAAFp0/VhicGp9sa1A/s1600/P1050427.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Mixed climbing boot from Scarpa, very very nice, will do a review sometime. It's very good product, that is the short review, ok.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9gn53ZbCIQQ/VMq1Rc4ST0I/AAAAAAAAFqQ/BIvL31K8gOQ/s1600/P1050446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9gn53ZbCIQQ/VMq1Rc4ST0I/AAAAAAAAFqQ/BIvL31K8gOQ/s1600/P1050446.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;This was a bit of a laugh, Basketball, more interesting than cricket, and it doesn't rain all of a sudden. Bit of a cultural shock, can't personally describe it as sport, it's more an entertainment, and a bit of tribal bonding, not bad though. I sussed the best player out fairly easily, and asked how much he earned-16 million dollar. He smiles a lot. My boss keeps asking me to smile when I do gear videos, well I got the answer for you boss-pay me 16 million.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ifa4yWCN8S0/VMq1Cnh5JOI/AAAAAAAAFqE/PJSP4QX1esI/s1600/P1050447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ifa4yWCN8S0/VMq1Cnh5JOI/AAAAAAAAFqE/PJSP4QX1esI/s1600/P1050447.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Stayed in a wierd hotel, truckers, and people of the night, 3 fights, coffee and food were some kind of unrecognisable shizer. Anyway Utah is at its best outside the city, protect it you Utahrians.&nbsp;</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/post-script-fron-usa-by-stevie-ps-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-3817190555208642501Tue, 27 Jan 2015 20:06:00 +00002015-01-29T00:21:54.961-08:00Utah Ice and stuff, by Stevie back in Italy Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-91XvImzYqEU/VMfqCa4VmAI/AAAAAAAAFo8/UPlhC-aBXXA/s1600/P1050448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-91XvImzYqEU/VMfqCa4VmAI/AAAAAAAAFo8/UPlhC-aBXXA/s1600/P1050448.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-large;">So last day in Utah was a big day. Woke up too early hassled my mates, they said I'd got the time wrong, which I had, did yoga till they woke up. Went round to the importers to get gear, Liberty Mountain have pads of gear and are really great guys, followed these guys to Provo Canyon, which was in surprisingly good nick.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KftwxTVFtmE/VMfqDE7BYPI/AAAAAAAAFpE/423vuR0PxcQ/s1600/P1050449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KftwxTVFtmE/VMfqDE7BYPI/AAAAAAAAFpE/423vuR0PxcQ/s1600/P1050449.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Ice climbing gear is very important, good ice climbing gear climbs by itself. Our new Grivel Teck Machine just won an award from Climbing Magazine USA, . You have to say that it's a very good axe which allows instinctive placements, and superb ergonomics. Anyway we had a half day doing loads of ice and trying out gear. For some of us it was just another day in the office and for others it was reaffirming their belief in climbing and the gear.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0nYAoKu4Jy0/VMfqC27N6LI/AAAAAAAAFpA/RQG13-E2a7E/s1600/P1050450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0nYAoKu4Jy0/VMfqC27N6LI/AAAAAAAAFpA/RQG13-E2a7E/s1600/P1050450.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;I had a very good time in Utah, it was unfortunately mostly work, and have to thank Gary for making it all possible. Its very odd to realise that I have a hell of a lot of friends in the States, and I haven't even been there for a dozen of years! Looking foreword to going back and doing a bit of climbing, or maybe a lot of climbing!</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HmpJP0-leG8/VMfqGKFZvbI/AAAAAAAAFpY/Rf_fBg3dOZo/s1600/P1050451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HmpJP0-leG8/VMfqGKFZvbI/AAAAAAAAFpY/Rf_fBg3dOZo/s1600/P1050451.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;This is a general view of the little ice climbing school, not bad at all. Its a short drive a short stiff walk up hill and seven or so pitches up, with lots of mixed variations if you want. No wonder the SaltLake region produces such great climbers from time to time.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-09miTkwzjys/VMfqFymP5UI/AAAAAAAAFpU/wnHUwHoSPsc/s1600/P1050455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-09miTkwzjys/VMfqFymP5UI/AAAAAAAAFpU/wnHUwHoSPsc/s1600/P1050455.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;This is Oliviero sampling the Utah ice, we had two Alexis as well, the y were well spoilt Alta and Snowbird for skiing the day before and perfect plastic ice today.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xhotnNNrESg/VMfqHFVHDII/AAAAAAAAFpk/G_sZlLibQkg/s1600/P1050456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xhotnNNrESg/VMfqHFVHDII/AAAAAAAAFpk/G_sZlLibQkg/s1600/P1050456.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">A view of the whole thing, not bad really, I did 11 practise pitches with a funny ankle, not bad for a sea level Maltese boy, Cascades like this are inspiring and so is being in good company.&nbsp;</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/utah-ice-and-stuff-by-stevie-back-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-5722554942230606378Sun, 25 Jan 2015 22:07:00 +00002015-01-25T14:10:46.740-08:00Rants, Pants, Stevie Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Short little blog, cos I'll be travelling for a few days. This blog is all about things going wrong, which in my case is practically all my life! Today I went ice climbing with Nathan and Jake and had a great time. Forgot my camera so you can't see the blue sky and dry air of the high road to reach this little frozen cascade. It was a lovely cascade, cold temps turned into rubber ice and then falling ice, but it was good. Scoped out some other stuff to climb. I was in borrowed gear, and it all worked. So where's the rant I hear you say? Well, I shoulda had a bit more climbing in right, I shoulda gone down the Indian creek, and done a few cracks in the sun, where's my rack of a trillion friends and cams? My gear is in France, I'am on the other side of the pond, I'll be back t'other side of Pond in a couple of days having used up my carbon footprint for 10 years, and what climbing will I have done?</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bUkxMqc12SI/VLTsJWns50I/AAAAAAAAFnw/uM9QmN9g-DA/s1600/P1030839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bUkxMqc12SI/VLTsJWns50I/AAAAAAAAFnw/uM9QmN9g-DA/s1600/P1030839.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">I want to climb! My belief in my right to climb is normally absolute, it's self entitlement gone mad, it's always worked, so why is it failing me now? In the past it was a self&nbsp;for-filling&nbsp; prophecy, where are these for-filling feckers when you want them.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ytCYvhb4e0M/VLTsJ6cI4lI/AAAAAAAAFn8/vfgx6OSc_iY/s1600/P1040151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ytCYvhb4e0M/VLTsJ6cI4lI/AAAAAAAAFn8/vfgx6OSc_iY/s1600/P1040151.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">A bit of ice climbing tomorrow, then a bit of work then fly. Will I come back, I better had as I got alotta friends here</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/rants-pants-stevie-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-4590060217396168588Sat, 24 Jan 2015 00:08:00 +00002015-01-23T16:09:12.798-08:00new strength new year by stevie new haston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7dUudSZfzP8/VLOSfMm5s_I/AAAAAAAAFnI/T19gYuJ0WtI/s1600/P1030803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7dUudSZfzP8/VLOSfMm5s_I/AAAAAAAAFnI/T19gYuJ0WtI/s1600/P1030803.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Bald eagle, USA symbol, I kinda just think of cracks as the symbol of America. Dawn Wall was just done by two American young men and it's been everywhere in the media. Perhaps climbing will get a boost, who knows. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vdle_Dj347k/VLOSe6itGyI/AAAAAAAAFnE/WwAev-QRvBg/s1600/P1030974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vdle_Dj347k/VLOSe6itGyI/AAAAAAAAFnE/WwAev-QRvBg/s1600/P1030974.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hung over today, was out partying last night, feel the need to train, but I'd probably chunder like an Australian cement mixer.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TMKrWsZIax4/VLOSfUyJm-I/AAAAAAAAFnM/jnXTl6kMn28/s1600/P1030989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TMKrWsZIax4/VLOSfUyJm-I/AAAAAAAAFnM/jnXTl6kMn28/s1600/P1030989.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Can you imagine doing this after a night out on the bing, makes me sick just thinking about it! Need to get strong, need to get off my arse. Maybe I,ll do a bit tomorrow, the hotel where I am has a small door way edge, where I did a few hundred pull ups the other night when I couldn't sleep. It felt great to be doing that simple excersise. Long live pull ups.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5blZaNxF5ek/VLOSf4zOcdI/AAAAAAAAFnU/pm50nT3qjpI/s1600/P1040326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5blZaNxF5ek/VLOSf4zOcdI/AAAAAAAAFnU/pm50nT3qjpI/s1600/P1040326.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">So another day of work over, and another day closer to going home. Except where is my home? Salt Lake City has been so nice to me I feel like staying, so many friends here, and two in particular who I never want to leave! Anyway the climbing community seem to remember me very well, and they remember me fondly which is great and a pleasant surprise. In there honour and to respect their feelings I will become strong and do some great climbs. I didn't know I'd some how become a fitness guru, so I can't disappoint now can I. Lots of Is there in that last bit wasn't there. Let's talk about other people, America is full of great places to climb and great climbers, but in Salt Lake you are so close to the desert that its taste-able, cracks, towers, fear, loathing, stars, sand, sweat, tears, hot mexican food.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">October is a good month to visit and by October fitness should have returned, be great to come out here and do a couple of cracks. &nbsp;</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/new-strength-new-year-by-stevie-new.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-2178716672137062547Tue, 20 Jan 2015 19:33:00 +00002015-01-23T15:34:28.231-08:00Work climb work, USA. by the Stevie workist Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNo3uiURwis/VLTw5iqcs7I/AAAAAAAAFoQ/4UoyoUSECrY/s1600/P1030814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNo3uiURwis/VLTw5iqcs7I/AAAAAAAAFoQ/4UoyoUSECrY/s1600/P1030814.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Here I am in the USA, and its to be honest, really great. SaltLake city for the Out door show and the people are very friendly and warm. I will be at the show, and I am there to work, please come to see me.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TrIIIRj0PP8/VLTxKaRvsoI/AAAAAAAAFog/7c9IxXXA4IE/s1600/P1030869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TrIIIRj0PP8/VLTxKaRvsoI/AAAAAAAAFog/7c9IxXXA4IE/s1600/P1030869.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />I<span style="font-size: x-large;"> am here with Liberty Mountain, at their booth. There is a special deal on a grivel twin gate, a safe great biner for 5 dollar, come and buy one, there's only a few hundred and it's a great price for a brill biner.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gmQCTIqAY5k/VLTxIWYWE2I/AAAAAAAAFoY/uUsOiwQGhKk/s1600/P1040215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gmQCTIqAY5k/VLTxIWYWE2I/AAAAAAAAFoY/uUsOiwQGhKk/s1600/P1040215.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Good times. Good friends. It was snowing, this morning, it's sunny.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Met some friends in Salt lake already, wanna meet every body.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u_yYXxWTtyo/VLTxQ1WrUpI/AAAAAAAAFoo/HTSNBkuoojk/s1600/P1040298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u_yYXxWTtyo/VLTxQ1WrUpI/AAAAAAAAFoo/HTSNBkuoojk/s1600/P1040298.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sorry about the photos can't work out my computer, my phones don't work, come and talk to me at the</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">show.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/work-climb-work-usa-by-stevie-workist.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-7840874778192288441Sun, 11 Jan 2015 17:21:00 +00002015-01-11T23:27:14.487-08:00To bolt or not to Bolt, by Stevie Haston. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yt34EJN248Y/VLKlk1eoO1I/AAAAAAAAFmM/2VSvG7LGFnM/s1600/P1050374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yt34EJN248Y/VLKlk1eoO1I/AAAAAAAAFmM/2VSvG7LGFnM/s1600/P1050374.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-large;">Bolting isn't easy. There's a lot of problems that people don't appreciate. Today there's problems with the metal, corrosion, stress corrosion, there's bad placing of bolts, people argue about length between bolts, and there's an often overlooked problem-glue.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yke9G8oFDss/VLKlllhDH3I/AAAAAAAAFmU/ohAYPaL2x9g/s1600/P1050382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yke9G8oFDss/VLKlllhDH3I/AAAAAAAAFmU/ohAYPaL2x9g/s1600/P1050382.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-large;">This is good glue, but the container has ruptured, this means that only one part of a two part glue has been used, there fore rendering the glue just so much expensive mush. The glue would never harden, the bolt would just pull out! Luckily I felt something wrong with the squeeze, and noticed the &nbsp;colour of the glue was wrong. My clothes and gear got ruined, but I didn't put really bad bolts in!</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7apQZMuY_0I/VLKll0L8RJI/AAAAAAAAFmY/4zSUy-sJnM4/s1600/P1050385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7apQZMuY_0I/VLKll0L8RJI/AAAAAAAAFmY/4zSUy-sJnM4/s1600/P1050385.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;This is a route called 21.12.12, it's just over two years old, and I still haven't done it! Neighbouring 21.12.12 is 12.12.12, I did this two years ago -an interesting 8a, the names are the dates on which they were bolted, funny numbers eh? 21.12.12 is 8a+ or 8b, and is really good overhanging wall climbing, tecky and fastidious, it's breaking me, there's a wet section on it that doesn't seem to dry, although I haven't tried it in the summer. It's in the guide book as 7c, a bit of an error eh! My bad.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mZRWWVJY3_0/VLKlmUtI3lI/AAAAAAAAFmg/GVUPC7hnKVg/s1600/P1050397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mZRWWVJY3_0/VLKlmUtI3lI/AAAAAAAAFmg/GVUPC7hnKVg/s1600/P1050397.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; 21.12.12. is brill, delicate, foot intensive, lots of memory.<br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">There's a little boulder problem to gain &nbsp;the chain V6, which involves stuff you cannot see, a finger tip mono being the choicest, and the shake out before this section is not so great for Hippo Haston. Anyway if you go to the White Tower, there's loads to do, six 8's, and three new 7's, Flying thru Fog, Frothing the Froth, and Jap's Eye next to Wee Man in a Boat . Wee Man in a Boat has been suggested as 7a+, and not 6c+, my bad. The oranges and lemons are all out, and there are still some&nbsp;daffodils out at the White Tower, at Sopu the neibouring cliff 10mins walk away the&nbsp;daffodils are&nbsp;sadly gone. The sky reflected the sea in a painting Turner&nbsp;couldn't have done justice too. &nbsp; &nbsp; Why is the world so beau, and humans so stupid, the&nbsp;beauty of humans is only skin deep, natures is&nbsp;millennium and&nbsp;millennium, luckily we had a good day sharing the cliffs with the wind, a Kestral, and the smell of Thyme.</span><br /><br /><br />http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/to-bolt-or-not-to-bolt-by-stevie-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-8083690382733423523Fri, 09 Jan 2015 09:44:00 +00002015-01-09T11:03:16.691-08:00My Bigoted Beliefs, stevie the Supremacist Haston.<span style="font-size: x-large;">Rock racism, as in stone racism, is easy to understand for me, because I really like some bits of stone way better than other bits, because of the way they look. Rock racism for me, as in music racism is &nbsp;a bit more difficult. I like some countries music, but not their country and Western. Racism as in race, as in running racism, is a bit more difficult to understand because running is full of much cultural, and physiological nonsense, coloured by racism, and masked as nationalism. And obviously Mountain running is what I love the best, and Kansas and Holland just&nbsp;don't hack it! &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Are you confused yet? My own racism which I have never questioned much, began to bother me recently.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WqzjaqTEK-Y/VK-iKmxbXPI/AAAAAAAAFls/Y57HFiq0AqY/s1600/IMG_1294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WqzjaqTEK-Y/VK-iKmxbXPI/AAAAAAAAFls/Y57HFiq0AqY/s1600/IMG_1294.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>Notice the preternatural chalk ball, no wonder Gozitans can't climb, they are simply ill equipped, or over equipped, I&nbsp;can't even close my legs!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">My country at the moment is a tiny island about 12 km by 8km, being an island it is surrounded by sea, so we don't get many foreigners, my mind is closing up into a small area. Mentioning it is surrounded by sea, is me admitting I think you could be stupid! Prejudice, racist, bigot, yep-thats me. Gozo has great stone, Gozo isn't even called Gozo, that's some kinnda Ferengi name the Maltese forced on us, or was it the colonial British?</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Gozo is really called Ghawdex. We, as in us Ghawdexians, are some of the most racist people in the world, we don't even like people from the next village, which is often only a half kilometre away, our cliffs are all ten minutes from each other, and don't talk to each other either.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WfZDc0JwHPU/VK-iMYPOlQI/AAAAAAAAFl8/wzQ7nygXRvE/s1600/IMG_1458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WfZDc0JwHPU/VK-iMYPOlQI/AAAAAAAAFl8/wzQ7nygXRvE/s1600/IMG_1458.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Anyway being a Bigot, or a Big Bigot on a Tiny Island was fairly comfy until I realised that there is more to this racism and bigotry malarky than I thought.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Recently some of my family, friends and even parts of my brain, became infected by Fear of the Foreigner, or FOF. We made a guide book recently which was called &nbsp;Some Sport Climbing in Malta and Gozo, it has unfortunately become a success, and gee whizz, other climbers are coming!</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Lets go back a tadge- when the guide book was being finalised I got a shock when I saw the cover, it only said "Sport Climbing on Malta", what I fumed, where is the crucial Gozo bit, the big Gozo bit? The other two guide book authors looked at me nonplussed, what was I going on about, well it's obvious innit, they are Maltese and one is borderline English, and comes from Sliema! So &nbsp;after a bit of huffing, and puffing I had my dictatorial way, and Gozo went on the cover, racism won a victory.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Now then, I thought this racism thing was done and dusted, being a lazy blighter after all, I just got rhythm, &nbsp;and a preternatural ability to climb large roofs because I have a penis with an opposing thumb-you didn't know that did you-Gozo racial secret-sorry Ghawdexian secret. Anyway, wait for it, wait for it, too many foreigners have been coming, from the big island Malta, and then from further north, you know 'Italy', I say it with a whisper, or a lisp cos it's a big word.&nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M-0xd__-Q8w/VK-iLeHLdvI/AAAAAAAAFl0/DyNHYaYteMQ/s1600/IMG_1521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M-0xd__-Q8w/VK-iLeHLdvI/AAAAAAAAFl0/DyNHYaYteMQ/s1600/IMG_1521.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Other people of a more unsavoury nature or colour, have been coming from further north, these people are so pale its hard to see them against the clouds, but they are there, believe me I have seen them with my own three eyes.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">What is to be done? FOF fear of the foreigner is being rapidly replaced by FOF OF a splinter group, the Fear of the Foreigner who over Fraternises, Jesus Mother of Mary, is the Pope a Muslim, when will it end? It was something like this that led to me, the truth is out, I am only half Gozitan, I'am going &nbsp;to resign from my coverted position in three climbing associations, we certainly don't do things by halves here.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Incase you missed it, this is for Je suis Charlie. I am hopefully a Half Charlie thanks to my mixed parentage -what a weird phrase-. Please come to Gozo and be nice to us Gozitans, leave some Euros, take some sun, maybe even stay. Peace.</span><br /><br /><br />http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/my-bigoted-beliefs-stevie-supremacist.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-7726113700022996044Tue, 06 Jan 2015 19:35:00 +00002015-01-06T12:06:09.435-08:00Visiting the USA, by Stevie star spangled Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4u2V4shwQy8/VKwy97R_sKI/AAAAAAAAFk8/5mwmo5RhlaY/s1600/P1040075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4u2V4shwQy8/VKwy97R_sKI/AAAAAAAAFk8/5mwmo5RhlaY/s1600/P1040075.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>Little Leo.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;I am bound for America, which is great, half of my friends are in the US. Going to the Outdoor show in Saltlake, shame it's business, but you know that's how it goes, come and see me. At one Outdoor show I met the greatest climber in America, forgive me for picking my own greatest climber and redefining America. Peter Croft is, or was a Canadian, and for me a 'Great', as in 'big thing' in North american climbing. A sterling soloer, maybe golden, adjectives don't really hack it when you have a climber of Croft's caliber in mind. Anyway I'am in training for America. Weak beer here I come.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-psyelyXQzjY/VKwy-bmWqaI/AAAAAAAAFlA/znTPhEjf2hs/s1600/P1040161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-psyelyXQzjY/VKwy-bmWqaI/AAAAAAAAFlA/znTPhEjf2hs/s1600/P1040161.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>A Crusher Prototype Board.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Today, 100 sets of between 10 minimum, and 16 maximum pull-ups, 50 sets weighted with a 12 kg belt. It all went splendidly, which surprised me. Diet not so good, had a relapse, a bit of wine, dairy is still in, Almond milk got all coagulated and weird, gifts of Stilton and expensive Port, also hard to resist!</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2lU_nesZ0ng/VKwy_00kubI/AAAAAAAAFlQ/v_1vxckdgTA/s1600/P1040473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2lU_nesZ0ng/VKwy_00kubI/AAAAAAAAFlQ/v_1vxckdgTA/s1600/P1040473.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>A miss placed hobbit from France.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;'The Gift of Small Things' is one of my routes, but I love small gifts, above is a mug that I love from one of my daughters, it helps me train. There have been so many gifts in my life, given me with love, thank you.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4OWNqUXWeuE/VKwzAozSYNI/AAAAAAAAFlY/XWbcqNp2Ebg/s1600/P1050362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4OWNqUXWeuE/VKwzAozSYNI/AAAAAAAAFlY/XWbcqNp2Ebg/s1600/P1050362.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">These are under one of my cliffs, their gift is their colour. Are you training? I saw the Afghanistan blue of the sea today, the Turner sky, trampled flowers by accident, for I cannot levitate, and felt thankful for the Gift of Small things. &nbsp;Some small things are very big.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/visiting-usa-by-stevie-star-spangled.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-8071932289565995830Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:25:00 +00002015-01-06T02:14:30.287-08:00Good intentions, some abstentions, by Stevie no pensions Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8RgfIh_p66k/VKrbDCkx5oI/AAAAAAAAFkM/dQIOWnt-A_w/s1600/P1050286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8RgfIh_p66k/VKrbDCkx5oI/AAAAAAAAFkM/dQIOWnt-A_w/s1600/P1050286.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;I had a project, my best project it was called Ludwig, it was next to a neighbour called Amadeus, it was my best project, I'am kinda getting used to the idea that I will never do it! Well it was, or is at least 9a+, but you know it fit me man, it and me we were made for each other. I might have to come back again as a ruthless serious climber type, in my next life that is, this life was more about &nbsp;exploring failure and going snow boarding, and dancing rather badly while being inebriated. &nbsp;</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tL53wFSwKfM/VKrbDBceMDI/AAAAAAAAFkI/w5e7T7yCE1U/s1600/P1050293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tL53wFSwKfM/VKrbDBceMDI/AAAAAAAAFkI/w5e7T7yCE1U/s1600/P1050293.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;My project this year is to be very fit, and have slightly less silly fun, but more serious success. Day five, I bolted a route, I don't want to bolt routes any more, and I bolted a route. There's no support for climbing here, and this is at a time when touristic climbing in the Med is at a bit of sticking point because of corrosion and failure of bolts in a few locations, and yet climbing is fundamentally important on my island as a sport for locals and touristic money.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TV0wih-4Rtc/VKrbFVdRSII/AAAAAAAAFko/B3H7IvB68mQ/s1600/P1050364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TV0wih-4Rtc/VKrbFVdRSII/AAAAAAAAFko/B3H7IvB68mQ/s1600/P1050364.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Today was complicated, and then suddenly it's simple, the wind, cold today -clean-brisk-urgent, the rock steep-interesting-demanding, me I was covered in dust, went to chum my old partner Inigo, training at the gym. Climbing is important to him, photos are important to him, life is important to me, him, our mates, and the world is overhanging us with it's shit, Putin legislates for Omg labelling, and another big empire actively protects poisoners.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G8JUUHI61sM/VKrbEvMrinI/AAAAAAAAFkc/oHtaYZoFTHI/s1600/P1050344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G8JUUHI61sM/VKrbEvMrinI/AAAAAAAAFkc/oHtaYZoFTHI/s1600/P1050344.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you drunk this stuff? Kefir is really good for you, give it a try! Ask your grocer or supermarket to stock some, if you like it.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_e6VZAxNiVA/VKrbEW43ifI/AAAAAAAAFkY/huyl53LT360/s1600/P1050330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_e6VZAxNiVA/VKrbEW43ifI/AAAAAAAAFkY/huyl53LT360/s1600/P1050330.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;This is a bit of tree resin, it makes climbing a bit easier, lots of people use it but they don't tell anybody. It's a beautiful thing, when it hardens into rock it's a gem called amber, sometimes complete with recognisable ants, and such, all visible, all&nbsp;wonderful.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dLLyj52KX7A/VKrbDEb9LqI/AAAAAAAAFkE/1yGIAEzVIxQ/s1600/P1050312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dLLyj52KX7A/VKrbDEb9LqI/AAAAAAAAFkE/1yGIAEzVIxQ/s1600/P1050312.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is a little mini landscape, wind eroded, a window into the past, the sea bed eons ago, sometimes I'ave pulled up on these shells, the crux of an arete way above the sea, a v9 sequence is pulling up on a small bit of a fossilised sea urchin. Tomorrow, 1000 pull ups, 500 of them with a 10 kg belt, a good intention, will it happen. Will a small island get a sport that its inhabitants have been doing for millennium, the fishermen and fowlers here have been climbing grade 5 for thousands of years and we have trouble today getting it recognised as a sport! Well, welcome to the modern diabetic, overweight world of people.&nbsp;</span><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/good-intentions-some-abstentions-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-8367427777656139002Sat, 03 Jan 2015 10:02:00 +00002015-01-03T02:23:24.886-08:00Training, tenacity, temperament. By Stevie temperamental Haston. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bd7PNCqiT1Q/VKe3scpntYI/AAAAAAAAFjI/qG6JzjLzQf0/s1600/P1050323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bd7PNCqiT1Q/VKe3scpntYI/AAAAAAAAFjI/qG6JzjLzQf0/s1600/P1050323.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's day three of 2015, I don't want to train anymore! Its day three of 2015, I don't want to diet any more!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I feel pathetically weak, mentally and physically.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H9ji_RWK6dw/VKe3rc2bnyI/AAAAAAAAFjM/p3pfBsleCtE/s1600/P1050305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H9ji_RWK6dw/VKe3rc2bnyI/AAAAAAAAFjM/p3pfBsleCtE/s1600/P1050305.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">When the going gets tough, the sensible give up, and so why I am I thinking it's tough, well I have not eaten much, and I have the character of a Sherman tank (that's not good, by the way), where's my tenacity, my mental fortitude?</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7oQsqaTBRxE/VKe3rhnFnnI/AAAAAAAAFi8/R0Lx7ZfD-Fo/s1600/P1050319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7oQsqaTBRxE/VKe3rhnFnnI/AAAAAAAAFi8/R0Lx7ZfD-Fo/s1600/P1050319.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Living on a soft island lost in a soft climate, where the last time they had tenacity was when they repelled the Ottoman empire in 15 something, is not the ideal place to be tough! I have had tenacity, a long time ago it was, when I used to solo a lot of Alpine faces, and maybe when I did Ultras and mountain runs. I have to find it again. It's day three and I have to dig deep, gee whiz, I'am doomed!</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Training, tenacity, temperament, mantra. I can't do today -the training bit, trial pull ups indicate I am nowhere near recovered, but I'll go out like I did yesterday and kill some fat. It stopped raining and I found a beautiful wall of pink eroded sandstone that might make some short, strange routes. I lost some weight, I am going to stick to my diet, dare I say it even when I go to Italy.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cPduH0M8F2Y/VKe3rYe0XqI/AAAAAAAAFi4/IhLiKUDIBQo/s1600/P1050306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cPduH0M8F2Y/VKe3rYe0XqI/AAAAAAAAFi4/IhLiKUDIBQo/s1600/P1050306.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Gozo coast looking down towards the Azure Window.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Loosing 1.9 kg by the beginning of day three shows a bit of tenacity, so I'am not now going to stuff my face with chips beer and pizza. Instead a few grade 6 balance walls will sort out the day, and train tomorrow with gusto. Gusto is my new mate, I hope I bump in tenacity.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/training-tenacity-temperament-by-stevie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-4796020073722916385Thu, 01 Jan 2015 15:29:00 +00002015-01-01T07:36:07.367-08:00Happy 1000 pull ups New Year from Stevie spitters are quitters Haston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you made your new years resolutions? Are you going to stick to them? I always make new years resolutions and sometimes stick to them. Sometimes I fail, but in the failing at least I get somewhere along the long trail to the promised land. The promised land of great routes, huge roofs, bigger than huge, grins bigger than your face, wear the banana of success, yes man I want the banana.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pFekcTdx3v0/VKVj60ZpPEI/AAAAAAAAFiY/niu3VPU5Z2Q/s1600/P1030687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pFekcTdx3v0/VKVj60ZpPEI/AAAAAAAAFiY/niu3VPU5Z2Q/s1600/P1030687.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ircWUc-UgE4/VKVj7XmwdjI/AAAAAAAAFic/bq0FPA_zaa0/s1600/P1030932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ircWUc-UgE4/VKVj7XmwdjI/AAAAAAAAFic/bq0FPA_zaa0/s1600/P1030932.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">I want to be a monster again. Or a semi monster. I'll settle for a semi as I'm ancient, I'ave seen oak trees grow from acorns, Iave seen climbing grow from fairly attainable goals to where you really have to get down and do your training to do those beautiful routes, so today cos its raining and tomorrow it will rain I did my thousand pull ups. Thanks Mr Crusher for the Board, its still going and so am I. This year I'll be 58 and of course I'll still be doing big roofs hopefully gigantic ones. It was - 1.6 in my village by the sea which is as south as you can get in Europe. Hope the Alpine boys and girls get their snow and ice, I don't want it down here thanks, I want those huge hulking Quasimodo like ceilings, where you take swinging whippers like the clanger in the swinging bell. Hope you all do something this year, life aint forever.</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2015/01/happy-1000-pull-ups-new-year-from.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-7563931435335077782Sun, 28 Dec 2014 20:48:00 +00002014-12-28T23:52:07.298-08:00Balls to Xmas, climbing is better. by Stevie Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you have a love hate relationship with humanity? Maybe? It's that time of year, when for a week people sometimes smile at each other, give gifts, and go yo ho ho. Its all daft cos the rest of the year everybody is not that nice.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HFkm7Ntt7IM/VKBhvTK49KI/AAAAAAAAFhs/45fEPWZqq_Q/s1600/P1050275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HFkm7Ntt7IM/VKBhvTK49KI/AAAAAAAAFhs/45fEPWZqq_Q/s1600/P1050275.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp; So here's a truth, it's my gift for Xmas, everybody knows it, but since we are all ego based and crass human&nbsp;beings we ignore it when it suits us. Climbing grades don't make any sense, but sometimes, or often, they are really nonsense, the whole basis on which we judge difficulty is based on make believe, and it is now proved time and time again by people with small fingers. You may well say yes but the little blighters can't reach holds, and this is true, but hey we don't judge them by what they can't do, we just judge them by what the head lines tell us they crush.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-nOD_PDX10/VKBhvYPHM2I/AAAAAAAAFho/AWkjPYYWKKY/s1600/P1050277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-nOD_PDX10/VKBhvYPHM2I/AAAAAAAAFho/AWkjPYYWKKY/s1600/P1050277.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">So bowling balls know all about difference in size, but climbing magazine editors clearly don't have any balls and never will. Small holds as well as &nbsp;pockets are easier to pull on if you fit them. Holds below 6mm are really hard for people with fat meaty fingers.&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9k89EQTM-EM/VKBhv5TGIvI/AAAAAAAAFhw/zy11RcYK5vE/s1600/P1050298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9k89EQTM-EM/VKBhv5TGIvI/AAAAAAAAFhw/zy11RcYK5vE/s1600/P1050298.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you are heavy and have big feet, rubber will rip and tear easier, even if the boots are really well designed.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_zDp88ssRQQ/VKBhwUnzBpI/AAAAAAAAFh8/UUOrn5m-MJo/s1600/P1050299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_zDp88ssRQQ/VKBhwUnzBpI/AAAAAAAAFh8/UUOrn5m-MJo/s1600/P1050299.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;This carabiner is a year old! I just took it off one of my routes, its a very good binner by a very good manufacturer, beware.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Anyway none of this matters if you like climbing, today like Xmas day I was climbing with friends and it was great, trying a route that is 50 meter and over hangs about 40 or 45 meters, it's a gift.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">There you go it's my gift to you all, its called&nbsp;Pleasant&nbsp;Pheasant Plucker.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TgRkFt7y6EU/VKBhwxjsh8I/AAAAAAAAFiE/kPHK9zXOIBU/s1600/P1050301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TgRkFt7y6EU/VKBhwxjsh8I/AAAAAAAAFiE/kPHK9zXOIBU/s1600/P1050301.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2014/12/balls-to-xmas-climbing-is-better-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-8916374479894442858Tue, 23 Dec 2014 16:43:00 +00002014-12-23T08:43:25.921-08:00Utah Dreaming by Stevie Haston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jM6ptju0wrs/VJmUCHbkELI/AAAAAAAAFg0/lXbmiDfw6vE/s1600/IMG_1831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jM6ptju0wrs/VJmUCHbkELI/AAAAAAAAFg0/lXbmiDfw6vE/s1600/IMG_1831.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>The O.R or Out door retail show in SaltLake City Utah might be requiring my skills. If this happens I get to see a great bunch of people and do a bit of work. I,ll keep you posted.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So this is a slight abstract, I like snow, I like rock, and I like sea.<br />I like Utah, I like Malta, Colorado, about a third of France, most of the Himalayas, and some other assorted bits and bobs. Don't like Lift Lines, motor ways, super markets, phones, bolts that rust.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DAAZDE9ZJ9w/VJmUSY9FTMI/AAAAAAAAFg8/ovgpJXVMilA/s1600/P1040544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DAAZDE9ZJ9w/VJmUSY9FTMI/AAAAAAAAFg8/ovgpJXVMilA/s1600/P1040544.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>&nbsp;Super hard, pull on a finger nail size bit of rock, like in the verdon, or pull on a jug and it explodes in an audible poof of noise and dust. &nbsp;<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-suhgxICTXL8/VJmUUUrMpjI/AAAAAAAAFhQ/BQvjIFnaQjY/s1600/P1040548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-suhgxICTXL8/VJmUUUrMpjI/AAAAAAAAFhQ/BQvjIFnaQjY/s1600/P1040548.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>&nbsp;Art is in the eye of the beholder, in this case not so much a painting as peeled paint. It reminded me of Indian art in the desert.<br /><span style="text-align: center;">When is it Art, art, or just graffiti.</span><br /><span style="text-align: center;">When is erotica, porn, when are climbing mags titillation.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;">Always admired the way a Praying Mantis thanks her Lover. Thankyou Mister&nbsp;</span>thank you very much, I mean munch.<br /><br /><span style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S7jtcMaVsZg/VJmUUQ8wO9I/AAAAAAAAFhM/KHhvuTYIXN0/s1600/P1050266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S7jtcMaVsZg/VJmUUQ8wO9I/AAAAAAAAFhM/KHhvuTYIXN0/s1600/P1050266.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>My majesticness, your majesticness, our majesticness.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zJH81mruDI/VJmUBR5tj_I/AAAAAAAAFgo/7EVq-o-n2v0/s1600/IMG_1833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zJH81mruDI/VJmUBR5tj_I/AAAAAAAAFgo/7EVq-o-n2v0/s1600/IMG_1833.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Otz07OiCfhk/VJmUSRjNTEI/AAAAAAAAFhA/afkGyNgYPhk/s1600/P1040546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Otz07OiCfhk/VJmUSRjNTEI/AAAAAAAAFhA/afkGyNgYPhk/s1600/P1040546.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A night on the tiles.<br />Take the hidden door,<br /><br />the path less travelledhttp://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2014/12/utah-dreaming-by-stevie-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596881348851403923.post-303154496157176700Thu, 18 Dec 2014 18:02:00 +00002014-12-18T10:33:46.831-08:00The Winkie Wankie bird. By Stevie Haston.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tqAjicxBo5s/VJMSVSozlCI/AAAAAAAAFfw/YLnyXCYXxWU/s1600/P1050232-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tqAjicxBo5s/VJMSVSozlCI/AAAAAAAAFfw/YLnyXCYXxWU/s1600/P1050232-001.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;Trusting this conveniently placed Butt blug belay was always going to have a risk, the risk being that when the coast guard rescue you, it's hard to explain how this rather odd shaped pole catapulted down the cliff and accidentally got stuck up yer bum. But there you go. Plus your never supposed to only trust one piece, are you not?</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mZVtOVYf6Lk/VJMSUUGih7I/AAAAAAAAFfc/ZeA87KW9K4Y/s1600/P1050230-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mZVtOVYf6Lk/VJMSUUGih7I/AAAAAAAAFfc/ZeA87KW9K4Y/s1600/P1050230-001.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">&nbsp;It was a bit wet and windy to day and I got cabin fever, so between showers I finished a route and successfully scared my self stupid. This is the finish of a spectacular climb which seems a trifle deranged even for me, it's only 25 meters of roof, but the weird angles and facets that you climb thru, render your spacial awareness systems kaput.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k5WE2j5ShTE/VJMST4rxZlI/AAAAAAAAFfY/tq1CO0xedmQ/s1600/P1050228-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k5WE2j5ShTE/VJMST4rxZlI/AAAAAAAAFfY/tq1CO0xedmQ/s1600/P1050228-001.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">The slightly acoustic slice of hard cheddar like sandstone got me all nostalgic for times past in the dessert of the USA. Eric Bjornstad sadly died recently and I couldn't help thinking about some of the great times I had with his guide books, thanks Eric and see you on the other side.&nbsp;</span>http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-winkie-wankie-bird-by-stevie-haston.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stevie Haston)